NIU football season now starts over again. At least that's how it feels. And it's not just that the Huskies now go from playing nine Saturday games to two Wednesday games, a Tuesday game with the MAC title game on a Friday. It's also because the last six teams they've played are a combined 10-40.

But now comes Ball State (8-1) and longtime nemesis Toledo (5-3) before an anticlimactic finale against Western Michigan (1-8).

And it's not just No. 21 NIU. Eight teams remained unbeaten headed into Saturday's games. Those eight ranked teams had played a combined six games against teams ranked in the top 20 when they met. Only Oregon had played two, and neither of the Ducks' foes were in the top 10. That's a huge downside of the BCS, which will get even worse with a four-team playoff: Undefeated teams used to fear getting shut out of a title shot, so they'd play at least one tough intersectional game. Now the goal is simply to go undefeated, no matter who you play. Or don't play. College football was far more exciting when Notre Dame played Miami, Michigan played Florida State, etc.

Chiefs overrated

And it's not just college football. Both Sports Illustrated and ESPN have the Chiefs at No. 1 on their NFL power rankings even though the Chiefs by all measures, are the worst 8-0 team in NFL history. Kansas City hasn't played a single winning team and barely beat Cleveland last week. Browns third-string quarterback (and failed Bears backup) Jason Campbell threw for 293 yards with a 105.4 passer rating. Kansas City's foes are 20-41 on the season. If you can climb to No. 1 by beating a bunch of clowns, what's the incentive to play anyone good?

Game vs. Packers loses importance

Two weeks ago, Monday looked like one of the most intriguing Packers-Bears games in years. Without Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs, it looks like a dud, even though the Packers have lost even more players to injuries. They haven't, though, lost Aaron Rodgers. This was supposed to be a game where we could measure the difference of a Marc Trestman offense vs. a Lovie Smith one. Now it may be a referendum on backup Josh McCown, and maybe even an aging Bears' defense, but it will say little about Trestman.